Package for infusing material



March 19, 1940. c. LUCKHAUPT 2,193,974

PACKAGE FOR INFUSING MATERIAL Filed vJuly 13, 1938 INVENTOR Christopher L ckhau T l5 BY 17 I9 WV ms A NEY Patented Mar. 19, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 6 Claims.

My present invention relates to packages and more particularly to an improved package for the packaging and utilization of infusing material such as tea, coffee, and the like.

My invention is particularly adapted for the packaging of material for obtaining an infusion therefrom such as tea or coffee in large or small quantities such as may be adapted for individual use or restaurant use. In my present invention I preferably utilize as the packaging material a material which is transparent or translucent and of such a character as to be partially or wholly insoluble in water of whatever temperature and of a character such as to impart no offensive taste or odor to the infusion desired to be made. Such material preferably is made from regenerated cellulose and may be in the dorm of commercial so-called Cellophane. Such material in commercial form is imperforate and is obtainable in a form that is insoluble in steam or water and does not contain any deleterious substance which would impart to the infusing water either taste or odor.

The material employed in making my improved package, and of the character above stated, may be provided with puncturings of any desired shape and size, preferably relatively minute, and of such number per unit area depending in large measure on the character of the material packaged therein.

flatness of the sheet or web and substantial closure of the individual punctured locations.

Upon placing a package formed of my material, as aforesaid, in steeping water, as in the instance of tea or coffee or the like contained in such package, such flaps or tabs afford entry of the water therethrough to form the infusion and the fiow of the infusion from the interior of the package in return to thesteeping water.

Accordingly, a feature of my invention is an improved package of sheetmaterial of regenerated cellulose provided with normally closed puncturing throughout its superficial area.

A feature of my/irfvention, also, resides in an improved package of sheet material of transparent or translucent regenerated cellulose or equivalent, insoluble in water and provided with normally closed puncturing throughout its superficial area and which puncturings are adapted to be opened upon immersion of the package in I the steeping water or equivalent.

- exterior influence.

Other features of my invention will appear as the description of the invention progresses.

When thus packaged, the tea, coffee or the like contained therein, is precluded from sifting or otherloss, the transparency or translucency of the material of the package affording visual inspection of the contents.

The substantially closed status of the packaging material also precludes loss of aroma of the contained material, and also substantially safe- 10 guards entry of atmospheric moisture or other In the accompanying drawing,

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of my invention utilizing transparent or .transl lucent material of regenerated cellulose and in package or bag form;

Fig. 2 is a section taken on the line 2-4 of. Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a sheet of re- 20 generated cellulose material from which the embodiment of my present invention illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 may be made;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged section of a fragment of the material illustrated in Fig. 3 and showing-a 25 manner of puncturing the sheet by tabs;

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4 showing the respective tabs positioned back in substantial alignment with the sheet;

Fig. 6 is a view illustrating the movement of 1 the tabs to open position under the influence of the steeping water;

Figs. '7, 8, and 9 illustrate in plan view, fragments of the cellulose sheet material and illustrating various typesof puncturings, and 5 Fig. 10 is a perspective view of a completed package, bearing an improved form of tag encircling and retained by the package.

' Referring to the drawing. and particularly to Figs. 1 and 2-, l0 designates a package or sack 40 made from regenerated cellulose and which may be in the form either transparent or translucent and which package or sack is filled with material ll. Such material may be any'material desired such as tea or coffee andfirom which an infusion 45 is to be made by steeping in preferably hot water. The pouch or sack I 0 is made from regenerated cellulose in sheet form and such a sheet is illustrated in Fig. 3 and designated by the reference numeral l2. The sheet of material I! is mechanl- 50 cally provided with puncturingsthroughout its superficial area or throughout its designated superficial areas, such puncturings being designated by the reference numeral l3. The puncturings designated l3 in Fig. 3 are illustrated in the making in Fig. 4 wherein a punch of substantially U-shape, as indicated in Fig. 7, cuts through the sheet I2, forming a tab I4, one end of which, as at the end I5, is integral with the sheet I2. Such tab therefore is positioned out by the punch or die and assumes the form shown in Fig. 4. After the making of the puncturings I3 the sheet I2 is preferably run through a calender or any other suitable device and the tabs I4 are re-placed in the puncturings I 3 so that the sheet I2 assumes a flat form as shown in Fig. 3, only the outline of the puncturings I3 being visible, the puncturings themselves being substantially closed by the tabs I4.

In Fig. 8 is shown a tab I6 of substantially V- shape with the end I! thereof integrally formed with the sheet I2 and the puncturing made by such tab I6 and corresponding to the puncturing I3 will naturally have the form of tab I6- In Fig. 9 is shown a fragment of a sheet of regenerated cellulose I2 in which a tab I8 has its end I9 integral with the sheet I2. The shape of the puncturing is naturally the shape of the tab I8.

Whatever the shape of the puncturing as the puncturing I3 or the shape of the corresponding tabs I4, I6 and I8, they will be during the making of the pouch or sack I0 shown in Figs. 1 and 2 closed by the respective tabs so that when a pouch or sack I0 is made from a sheet of regenerated cellulose I2 shown in Fig. 3, there is formed practically a pouch or sack which is imperforate.

'Being imperforate, there is no danger of any of the material as the material II sifting from the pouch or sack I 0.

The pouch or sack I0 is made from the sheet I2 of regenerated cellulose by folding along the line 20 in Fig. 3 and running a line of stitching adjacent the edges 2| and 22 as indicated by the reference numeral 23 continuing such line of' stitching by running the same adjacent to the edges 23 and 24 and then running the line of stitching adjacent the edges 25 and 26, the material utilized in stitching being extended in general stitched form to form an extension 21 to the end of which may be attached a tab. I

Such tab is shown in position in Fig. 10 where the package or sack III has the general stitching material 21 attached to the tag 28. Such tag may be of any material preferably regenerated cellulose having ends 29, a central zone 30 substantially equal to the width of the package or sack I0 and side zones 3| on either side of, the central zone 20 whereby the central zone 30 may rest on one face of the pouch or sack III and the side bands 3| on the opposite side of the said package.

When a filled package or sack III, as shown in Fig. 10, is to be used, the user slips the tag 23 from off the sack or pouch and drops the sack or package with the infusing material II therein into the steeping water whereupon the water affects the material comprising the tabs I4 or I6 or III and they curl up and out of the position shown in Fig. 5 and into substantially the position shown in Fig. 6, from an inspection of which it will be apparent that the puncturings I3 are now open permitting the steeping water to flow into and out of the pouch or sack III and permitting the infusion to be made.

Because of the transparent or translucent character, and preferably transparent character ofthe material employed, the kind of material being held in the pouch or sack III is plainly visible to the person desiring to either inspect or use the same and the condition of the material to be infused may be determined at any stage of the infusion process. Being preferably of regenerated cellulose, the material I2 is insoluble in water regardless of the temperature of such water and imparts no taste or odor to the infusion being made nor does it have any effect on the material packaged therein. The pouches may be made in any desired size and the puncturings made in such packaging material, while they permit the ready flow of water and the infusion therethrough, will not be operated while in the dry state and thus sifting of the packaged material is prevented.

In the commercial production of the embodiments of my invention, a sheet or a continuous web, as indicated in Fig. 3, of regenerated cellulose or other transparent or translucent cellulose film or equivalent material is treated to provide the desired punctured and non-punctured, i. e., imperforate, areas, by the employment of any suitable means, such as a roll, having at its periphery over an area mutually spaced puncturing elements corresponding to the punctured area of the material, the remainder of the periphery of such roll being devoid of such puncturing elements and corresponding to the non-punctured area of the materiah Such sheet or web may then be passed through suitable smooth faced rolls to re-place the minute tongues or tabs within the individual punctured locations, to assume a substantially flat status with relation to the adjacent non-punctured, i. e. imperforate portions of the sheet or web. Desirably the sheet or web is passed through such sets of puncturing and replacing rolls under tension in the direction of the greater tensile strength of the material of the sheet or web, thus utilizing the resiliency of the material to more effectively puncture the material and more effectively upon release from tension to restore the minute flaps or tabs within the individual punctured locations. In such operation, the puncturing or perforating roll or rolls may be positively driven at substantially the same surface speed as the travel of the sheet or web.

Whereas I have described my invention by reference to specific forms thereof, it will be understood that many changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

1. An improved package for infusing material composed of regenerated cellulose in sheet form and provided with puncturings normally substantially closed by tabs forced from the material to form the respective puncturings and with said tabs normally lying in original position to substantially close the individual puncturings, and said tabs moved to open position by the action of hot extracting medium.

2. An improved package for infusing material, such as beverage material, made from a sheet of regenerated cellulose material in sack form and provided with puncturings through designated superficial area and normally substantially closed by tabs formed integral with the sheet of regenerated cellul'ose material, and said tabs opening by the action of hot extracting medium.

3. An improved package for infusing material, such as beverage material, made from a sheet of regenerated cellulose material in sack form and provided with puncturings through designated superficial area and normally substantially closed by a tab formed integral with the sheet of regenerated cellulose material and with the package closed by sewings of fibrous material, said tabs areas-r4 opening by the action'of hot extracting medium.

4. An improved package forinfusing material, such as beverage material, made from a sheet of regenerated cellulose material in sack form and provided with puncturings through designated superficial area and normally substantially closed by tabs formed integral with the sheet of regenerated cellulose material, said tabs moving to open position by the action of hot extracting medium, and with the package closed by sewings of fibrous material, and with the ends of the fibrous material extending beyond the package, and a tag attached to said end.

5. An improved package for packing infusingmaterial, such as beverage material comprising cellulose material provided with puucturings,

the tabs of such puncturings being normally substantially closed, the material possessing the property upon wetting to effect movement of the tabs from theirnormally substantially closed positions.

6. An improved package for infusing material,

said package made from regenerated cellulose in sheet form and provided with puncturings of any desired number and size throughout a designated superficial area and with ,the puncturings nor-. mally substantially closed by tabs forced from the material to form the respective puncturings, and said tabs moved to open position by the action oi hot extracting medium.

CHRISTOPHER LUCKHAUPT. 

